There are some very good resources to cut through much of the misinformation, and I’d recommend the following (in no particular order):
Silca (the brand), answers a lot of questions through their YouTube channel about chain wax, chain prep, etc. The company is American, so if I were to buy wax now, I’d go with a brand called “Rex”, out of Europe. Canadian ski suppliers will have this brand, because they make ski wax, too.
Zero Friction Cycling is also an excellent resource, and they have a full video on how to wax from A to Z. This guy is from Australia, and he tests various lubes, chains, etc.
The Global Cycling Network (UK, and also known as “GCN”) talks about wax a lot, too. And they have helpful videos about waxing. Note: they are sponsored by Silca, so they tend to mention Silca products a lot.
Unfortunately, Silca does make great products, but in the spirit of NotAmerican, I’ll be avoiding purchasing products from the brand for the foreseeable future.
So stuff I presumably need …
These are answered in any of the tutorial videos, but I’ll add my own feedback.
I prefer to have more than one waxed chain available per bike. Yes, it adds an extra expense, but hear me out: the convenience of multiple chains makes it a lot faster/easier to manage things if you bike a lot. The money saved from waxing will pay for any of the initial expenses pretty quickly.
For chains links, most brands are not designed to be reusable. And even the reusable KMC links aren’t meant to be used more than a few times. I went with Wipperman chains and extra Wipperman chainlinks. The chain company is German, and I bought them online through a bike shop in Quebec. These can be removed/installed without tools, and can be used “indefinitely” (i.e. the life of the chain).
My winter bike also has the KMC Z8.1 chains, which have added rust protection, and that’s been working fine. I use the Wipperman link on those, too.
I prepped all of my chains with Silca chain stripper, which is a safe, easy, cost effective way to remove factory grease from a new chain. The alternative is to use harsh solvents. In this case, honestly, I’d simply recommend the Silca chain stripper purchased from a Canadian dealer and call it a day. It can be reused many times, and you really only need to use it once per chain.
For the wax pot itself, I’m using a cheap wax melter (looks like a small rice cooker). You may be able to find these locally, but mine was purchased from Amazon a while ago. Slow cookers also work, but they are very slow to heat up.
I do also use a digital food thermometer to monitor the wax temperature. Not really necessary, since you know when the wax is melted and can pull the chain out when the wax is cooling down.
This all sounds more complicated than it actually is. When I rewax a chain now, it really only requires a minute of my time. The rest is waiting for the wax to melt, and the chain to cool off after pulling it out… gives me time to tidy the kitchen or prepare a meal. But I never have to worry about greasy hands, solvents, black marks on clothes, chain wear, chain noise, replacing drivetrain components, etc…
No more black greasy stains on my hands certainly sounds like a massive benefit for using wax. I had heard that even the reusable KMC links are only reusable a few times but you get a couple of them so that presumably should last a few thousand km. Thanks for all the info, going to look at ordering stuff and hopefully will have a waxed chain in a week or two.
No more black greasy stains on my hands certainly sounds like a massive benefit for using wax.
When I was talking so my group about waxed chains, I literally ran my hand over my chain, and it was 100% clean. It’s almost like a magic trick!
And because of that, swapping chains out isn’t nearly as bad as you’d think.
I had heard that even the reusable KMC links are only reusable a few times but you get a couple of them so that presumably should last a few thousand km.
Yes, KMC can be reused, but they still require a tool to get on/off. Work with what you have, and invest where it makes the most sense to you.
There are some very good resources to cut through much of the misinformation, and I’d recommend the following (in no particular order):
Silca (the brand), answers a lot of questions through their YouTube channel about chain wax, chain prep, etc. The company is American, so if I were to buy wax now, I’d go with a brand called “Rex”, out of Europe. Canadian ski suppliers will have this brand, because they make ski wax, too.
Zero Friction Cycling is also an excellent resource, and they have a full video on how to wax from A to Z. This guy is from Australia, and he tests various lubes, chains, etc.
The Global Cycling Network (UK, and also known as “GCN”) talks about wax a lot, too. And they have helpful videos about waxing. Note: they are sponsored by Silca, so they tend to mention Silca products a lot.
Unfortunately, Silca does make great products, but in the spirit of NotAmerican, I’ll be avoiding purchasing products from the brand for the foreseeable future.
These are answered in any of the tutorial videos, but I’ll add my own feedback.
I prefer to have more than one waxed chain available per bike. Yes, it adds an extra expense, but hear me out: the convenience of multiple chains makes it a lot faster/easier to manage things if you bike a lot. The money saved from waxing will pay for any of the initial expenses pretty quickly.
For chains links, most brands are not designed to be reusable. And even the reusable KMC links aren’t meant to be used more than a few times. I went with Wipperman chains and extra Wipperman chainlinks. The chain company is German, and I bought them online through a bike shop in Quebec. These can be removed/installed without tools, and can be used “indefinitely” (i.e. the life of the chain).
My winter bike also has the KMC Z8.1 chains, which have added rust protection, and that’s been working fine. I use the Wipperman link on those, too.
I prepped all of my chains with Silca chain stripper, which is a safe, easy, cost effective way to remove factory grease from a new chain. The alternative is to use harsh solvents. In this case, honestly, I’d simply recommend the Silca chain stripper purchased from a Canadian dealer and call it a day. It can be reused many times, and you really only need to use it once per chain.
For the wax pot itself, I’m using a cheap wax melter (looks like a small rice cooker). You may be able to find these locally, but mine was purchased from Amazon a while ago. Slow cookers also work, but they are very slow to heat up.
I do also use a digital food thermometer to monitor the wax temperature. Not really necessary, since you know when the wax is melted and can pull the chain out when the wax is cooling down.
This all sounds more complicated than it actually is. When I rewax a chain now, it really only requires a minute of my time. The rest is waiting for the wax to melt, and the chain to cool off after pulling it out… gives me time to tidy the kitchen or prepare a meal. But I never have to worry about greasy hands, solvents, black marks on clothes, chain wear, chain noise, replacing drivetrain components, etc…
No more black greasy stains on my hands certainly sounds like a massive benefit for using wax. I had heard that even the reusable KMC links are only reusable a few times but you get a couple of them so that presumably should last a few thousand km. Thanks for all the info, going to look at ordering stuff and hopefully will have a waxed chain in a week or two.
When I was talking so my group about waxed chains, I literally ran my hand over my chain, and it was 100% clean. It’s almost like a magic trick!
And because of that, swapping chains out isn’t nearly as bad as you’d think.
Yes, KMC can be reused, but they still require a tool to get on/off. Work with what you have, and invest where it makes the most sense to you.